John and I drove past a Wendy’s last night, and somehow their Greek pita wrap slipped into my mind. God, those were the days. I was a grad student when John introduced me to their super tasty vegetarian wrap. Fresh, crispy lettuce, juicy tomatoes, big chunks of feta cheese, zingy dressing– all contained in a piping hot, fluffy pita. At the time, John was living with his brother Tim in Laurel. The Wendy’s was just up the street, and with the drive-thru open til 1 a.m. every night, well, let’s just say John was a frequent visitor. Damn. The wrap with the chocolate frosty– it was the perfect quick and easy meal.

I remember soon after I’d moved to Raleigh to start my first job out of school, I drove by a Wendy’s on the way to work. For some reason, on that particular day, I thought of the wrap. All day at the office, I craved the sandwich: that was going to be my first stop after work. So finally, at 5:30, I pulled into the drive-thru. I spoke into the mic– “a Greek veggie pita, please.” “Uh, we don’t have that.” Totally stunned, I said, “WWWWHHHHAATTTT??!” “Uh, yeah, that’s not on the menu. We don’t have that anymore.” “When did that happen? Is that all Wendy’s or just you?” I know, a totally idiotic question considering they are a chain. Duh. But I just couldn’t believe they took that away! I was so disappointed. I went home and immediately called John who was on business in New England. We were stupefied. WTF??! Why the wrap? The next day, he called me at lunch. He was at a Wendy’s, eating the wrap. Mother fucker. There he was, chomping on what was very possibly the last Greek pita wrap ever, telling me every detail and juicy morsel over the phone. Nice. Don’t rub it in or anything. Oh well, a few days later, he– like the rest of us— was SOL. That was when we started making veggie wraps at home– not the same, but still yummy.

So yesterday got me thinking… food triggers so many memories. There’s no denying it: John and I are big time eaters. And you know what? Surprisingly, the small college town of Gainesville (grad school) ranks pretty high up. The garlic knots and salad at Leonardo’s 706. God, my mouth waters even now– six years later– thinking about them. Who knew there were salads besides the standard house and caesar? Real assorted greens, Northern white beans, a creamy garlic dressing… heavenly. Then there was the Reuben and potato salad at McAllister’s, the hummus at Falafel King., forever etched in our memories. Sigh. We had some good times then.

In Raleigh, Claudio’s (now closed!?) had the best penne alla vodka. The Chop House was great for succulent pork chops. Condi’s Italian market downtown had crazy delish deli meats. I enjoyed Raleigh– it was a convenient city. I especially loved how you could park right near the door at RDU (Raleigh-Durham airport) for like $4/day. And the airport was only 10 minutes away. Whenever we attended a performance at the theater downtown, we would be in and out of the parking lot in 2 minutes. So easy breezy. They say things there are different now. Guess that’s inevitable when cities hit the big leagues.